The head of Hampshire social services has hit out at controversial plans to impose bed-blocking fines on councils as "short-sighted and unduly harsh".

This week, there were 91 elderly people stuck in the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, Mount Hospital in Bishopstoke and Andover's War Memorial Hospital because there were no suitable nursing home places.

In a bid to free up NHS beds, the Government is threatening to fine social services departments if they fail to find accommodation for patients ready to leave hospital.

The Community Care (Delayed Discharges) Bill could come into effect next April, despite opposition from social services chiefs and charities for the elderly and mentally ill.

Felicity Hindson, executive member with responsibility for social care, said plans to allow hospitals to fine social services up to £120 per day for delaying the discharge of a patient were "highly questionable."

The Tory councillor said: "I can think of no reason to bring in this punitive scheme, but plenty to oppose it."

Mrs Hindson said it would "set health against social services" and damage "the excellent working partnership" developed over the last five years as well as create more bureaucracy.

"Cash-strapped hospitals will no doubt welcome the extra money, but for over-stretched social services departments, this proposal is short-sighted, and unduly harsh."

Mrs Hindson believed there was no lack of commitment to reducing delayed dischargesonly a lack of resources. "A serious shortage of nursing home places is a major issue and no amount of fines will magically conjure up beds that aren't available."

The county council recently announced plans to build around 500 nursing home places in Hampshire with the help of Whitehall cash.

Rod Halls, chief executive of Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Healthcare Trust, said delayed discharges were "an enormous problem" for the trust's three hospitals. "It can lead to non-urgent operations being cancelled and that can cause us to miss important government targets.

"We have sympathy with social services. Like us, they have a hard job to do with only a finite sum. We will not be going out of our way to make sure they are charged for delayed transfers of care. We will continue working together to find the right solution for the patient."